Martha Stewart doesn’t just want to help keep your home organized. She wants to help you protect it, too. The lifestyle icon posted a shocking set of photos after her vanity mirror almost caught fire. Starting her warning with “BEWARE!!!!!” she told us exactly what happened: “While I was in Tasmania my master bathroom had a serious problem. A magnifying makeup mirror, sitting on the back of the toilet, happened to catch the rays the afternoon sun, reflecting them directly onto the painted window sill. The light was so intense that the paint scorched and smoked almost ignited!” In the images, you can see the damage caused to her window sill. But Stewart isn’t the only person who’s had such an experience. Along with several commentators commiserating on Instagram (“That happened to me!”), other people have shared similar stories. Last year, homeowner Sofia Mihaylova told CTV News her husband put out a small fire caused by sunlight reflecting from her makeup mirror. “If he wasn’t lucky enough to enter the room at that very moment, we would have had a house fire,” Mihaylov said. Another woman from California found her desk caught on fire likely because of her mirror. In a since-deleted viral Facebook post featured on "The Doctors," Kasey Ault wrote, "If any of you do your makeup in a little mirror in front of the window like I do, stash it away when you're done." Good Housekeeping Institute beauty lab director Birnur Aral, Ph.D says this can happen when the sun's rays reflect and concentrate at the same point on a concave mirror. "If you have a concave mirror, place it away from direct sunlight, or if it's feasible and won't create a breaking hazard, put the concave side of the mirror facing down on your vanity," she suggested.The bottom line: While it's not the most common incident, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Martha Stewart doesn’t just want to help keep your home organized. She wants to help you protect it, too. The lifestyle icon posted a shocking set of photos after her vanity mirror almost caught fire.

Starting her warning with “BEWARE!!!!!” she told us exactly what happened:

“While I was in Tasmania my master bathroom had a serious problem. A magnifying makeup mirror, sitting on the back of the toilet, happened to catch the rays [of] the afternoon sun, reflecting them directly onto the painted window sill. The light was so intense that the paint scorched and smoked [and] almost ignited!”

In the images, you can see the damage caused to her window sill. But Stewart isn’t the only person who’s had such an experience. Along with several commentators commiserating on Instagram (“That happened to me!”), other people have shared similar stories. Last year, homeowner Sofia Mihaylova told CTV News her husband put out a small fire caused by sunlight reflecting from her makeup mirror.

“If he wasn’t lucky enough to enter the room at that very moment, we would have had a house fire,” Mihaylov said.

Another woman from California found her desk caught on fire likely because of her mirror. In a since-deleted viral Facebook post featured on "The Doctors," Kasey Ault wrote, "If any of you do your makeup in a little mirror in front of the window like I do, stash it away when you're done."

Good Housekeeping Institute beauty lab director Birnur Aral, Ph.D says this can happen when the sun's rays reflect and concentrate at the same point on a concave mirror. "If you have a concave mirror, place it away from direct sunlight, or if it's feasible and won't create a breaking hazard, put the concave side of the mirror facing down on your vanity," she suggested.

The bottom line: While it's not the most common incident, it's always better to be safe than sorry.